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NZXT Hades Review

Conclusion:

The Hades is a unique case from NZXT with an attractive price that manages to deliver a lot of good, a little bad and even some odd. The design of the case is very interesting and at first glance I was not sure if I loved or hated it. But once I powered the case on and I saw the red LEDs blending with the black chassis, any doubt about the appearance melted away and I quickly saw an appealing case sitting next to me. Along with the unique design, you also get exceptional cooling performance and in fact it was the best case I have used so far at efficiently cooling my processor. The exceptional cooling is due to the cable management and great airflow within the case. The airflow is created by the two 200mm intake fans that bring in cool air from the front while the hot air is removed by the two exhaust fans at the top and rear of the case. The two 200mm intake fans are connected to a fan controller that can adjust the voltage going to the fans and even when turned to the maximum, they remained quiet while pushing a respectable 140 CFM. Even though these two case fans are quiet, the overall noise level of the case can get a bit loud. But if you are bothered by fan noise, you probably already have a water cooling radiator ready to be installed in the supplied area at the top of the case.

The cable management system found in the Hades is similar to other NZXT cases and was able to hide most of the cables behind the motherboard tray and with these cables out of the way, there is little to reduce airflow, which allows the Hades to excel at creating optimal overclocking temperatures. The cable management works well, but as with the NZXT tempest EVO case, I had a hard time with the rubber covers that are found on each cable management hole. These covers just come off too easily and once they are filled with cables, they are hard to get back into place. When it came to installation, the Hades was easy to work in for the most part, but I did find some areas to be a little cramped - especially at the top of the case near the CPU area. This was due to the motherboard being extremely close to the top exhaust fan, but if you have any issues, the top fan can be easily removed for better access to the motherboard.

Another interesting feature of the Hades is the temperature display that allows you to switch back and forth from Celsius to Fahrenheit by pushing a button on the inside of the door. This display was relatively accurate and even though I did not take my time to carefully place the temperature cables in their optimal position, the display was usually within a few degrees Celsius of the temperature software I was using.

As you can see, the Hades is quite unique and even with its faults, I must say the time I spent with the case was a very enjoyable one with more pros than cons. At the price point NZXT is releasing the Hades at you would be hard pressed to find a case without faults in one form or another. With the faults aside, the Hades is a great looking case that matches much higher-end cases in cooling performance and offers the user features such as a dual fan controller, temperature display, great cooling and glows as red as Hades itself. For those of you out there that have the Hades on your shortlist, I say don't hesitate - you know you want it.